Sleepless Starry Night
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day forty-six: Quinn spends her first night at the Hudson house. Ballad


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a second cycle. Now entering the seventh through ninth weeks, here comes cycle 3 of my gleekathon! _

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**"Sleepless Starry Night"  
Finn/Quinn**

Once Mrs. Hudson had told Quinn she could stay, she and Finn climbed up the stairs from the basement and up to Finn's room. Her arms were still wrapped around herself, had been since she'd left home almost… There was a chill over her that didn't go away. She was still in shock from all that had gone down that time. She didn't even remember packing until Finn grabbed her bags from up the stairs before they headed to his room. He put the bags down on the bed, and she sat next to them, looking over.

Finn kept his eyes on her, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. She looked exhausted… broken…

"I… I'll let you change," he nodded, moving to the door.

"Where are you going to sleep?" he stopped and turned back to her. She was looking at him. It was the first time she'd spoken since they'd left her house. He shrugged.

"I'll take the floor for tonight," she moved to say something, but he stopped her. "I'll think of something for the other nights, but this will be okay for tonight." After a moment, she nodded, gave a shy smile. He smiled back and headed out to let her change.

Quinn sat there for a moment before reaching to open one of the bags. She pulled out a nightgown, still folded in her mother's neat style. She stared at it for a while… she almost didn't want to undo the folds. She put the gown down and stood to undo her dress. She folded it up and put it in the bag.

Once she'd finished changing, she put her bags in the corner and went to sit on the bed, legs crossed over Indian style, with her hair brush. She took it through her hair, trying not to settle on the look that had been on her father's face.

Finn returned, carrying a cup. "My mother said this would help," he took it to her, sitting on the edge of the bed. She put the brush down in her lap before taking the cup. It was warm and it smelled good. She breathed out.

"Thanks…" she looked up at him. "Really," she nodded. He gave a smile. While she drank up, he moved around, changing out in the hall, getting blankets. She gave him one of the pillows as she put her brush and the empty cup aside.

"If you need something, just wake me up, okay?" he told her as he sat on the ground, in his 'bed.' She nodded, moving to lie down, pulling the covers over herself. "Good night," he told her, after a moment. She nodded.

"Good night, Finn."

She closed her eyes, hoping to be carried away to sleep by the mere state of being so exhausted. But as the minutes dragged on, she knew the darkness was only her eyes being closed… she was still wide awake.

When she opened her eyes, her sight filled with the stars in the sky out of Finn's bedroom window. She started counting them off in her head, hoping it would make her fall asleep. It didn't… and then she lost count of the stars. She sighed.

"Still awake?" she heard from the ground. Finn sat up.

"Yeah…" she spoke. He scooted over on the ground, crossing his arms over the edge of the bed.

"Is it… your parents?" he asked.

"It's a lot of things," she replied. He looked down to his hands on the bed, thinking for a moment.

"Anything I can do?" She smiled, shook her head.

"It's okay. You've already done so much tonight…"

"Yeah," he looked down. "I'm sorry."

"No," she shook her head. "I knew it wouldn't be easy telling them, I just… it's done now." He nodded. They were silent for a while. "How… How's your mom doing with… this…"

"She's taking it a lot better than I thought she would." Quinn thought about her own mother… How she'd stood there while her father mowed her down with his words. In a way, she knew exactly what had been going through her mind, and her reaction hadn't surprised her. Still… she would have wanted her to do something, to… protect her, somehow.

"I really don't want to impose." Finn shook his head, reaching to take her hand.

"You're not. It's like she said. You're welcome to stay here, as long as you need to." She smiled. "Hey, you know what? I think I found a new name… for her," he nodded to her midsection. She closed her eyes.

"Finn, I…" she shook her head. Not having the energy to deal with another entry to the mantle of 'Drizzle.'

"Erinn," he spoke with a proud smile. She opened her eyes. "With two N's," he held up two fingers. She smiled, feeling herself well up with tears. "Then she'll be like us… Finn, Quinn, and Erinn," he counted off. Quinn gave his hand a squeeze. "What do you think?" he asked.

"I think… it's good," she looked to their joined hands, her face softening. "You know you shouldn't… get attached," she stared up to him. "It only makes it harder."

"I know," he nodded, looking back to her.

"She… she's not yours… she's not mine… You remember that," she begged, looking into his eyes.

"I got it. I promise," he assured her, looking away, then back to her. "You should sleep," he nodded.

"Yeah, I tried that," she sighed, wiping at her tears.

"What do you need?" he asked her, ready to do whatever it took. She looked beyond him, to the stars out the window.

"I don't know," she tried to rest her head down into the pillow.

Finn pondered things, trying to find a way to help her. She needed comfort, someone to be there for her, to show her that it would be okay… maybe not for a while, but eventually… if she understood that, then maybe she could sleep for the night.

Quinn didn't really feel her hand being released, until the mattress caved with a new weight in the space behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see Finn lying down next to her.

"What are you… What if your mom comes in here?" she asked nervously. She had a mother on her side now, she didn't want to lose her.

"You need rest," he reasoned. "At this point, you're already pregnant, anyway." She smirked. "I'm not going anywhere," he promised, wrapping his arms around her. She rested back, feeling the embrace calm her.

Finn stayed awake until Quinn finally dozed off. Now that she'd relaxed, he felt like he could relax as well. The stress of the night had worn them both out. Soon they both slept, barring each other's nightmares by proximity.

THE END


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